


lonely this christmas (baby you won’t be)

by halfwayinit



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Family Fluff, M/M, ballum advent calendar 2020, fun fun fun, they build a snowman together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27947771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwayinit/pseuds/halfwayinit
Summary: A beautiful blanket of pure white has settled across Albert Square, dazzling in the rising December sun as people slowly begin to wake from their slumber and begin a new day. It’s been a long winter, a long year for many, but the picturesque scene is nothing short of breathtaking, enough to bring a smile to the most stony face. As much as the air is bitterly cold, the sheer beauty of Walford in the snow makes up for it.The serenity of the morning in the Mitchell household is broken by Lexi’s shrieks, jumping up and down on her dad’s bed in an attempt to wake him and Callum as quickly as possible.“It’s snowing! It’s snowing!”
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 51





	lonely this christmas (baby you won’t be)

**Author's Note:**

> hiii this is my contribution for day 8 of the ballum advent calendar :)  
> i’m not overly happy with how this turned out but if you read it then i hope you enjoy! 
> 
> merry christmas ✨

A beautiful blanket of pure white has settled across Albert Square, dazzling in the rising December sun as people slowly begin to wake from their slumber and begin a new day. It’s been a long winter, a long year for many, but the picturesque scene is nothing short of breathtaking, enough to bring a smile to the most stony face. As much as the air is bitterly cold, the sheer beauty of Walford in the snow makes up for it. 

The serenity of the morning in the Mitchell household is broken by Lexi’s shrieks, jumping up and down on her dad’s bed in an attempt to wake him and Callum as quickly as possible.

“It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” 

Callum can’t help the sleepy huff of laughter that escapes him when Ben groans and turns on his side, burying his face into Callum’s chest, chasing the warmth that is quickly fading away. He’s never been a morning person, but even less so in the winter when everything is cold, damp and frosty. Snow shmow, he thinks. 

“Make her stop, Cal. It’s still the middle of the night.” 

His words have Lexi huffing as she stops her jumping around to stand still on the bed with a hand on her hip, the picture of her father as she pouts down at the two of them. Callum gives it another few minutes before she breaks out the puppy dog eyes, they never fail to get her exactly what she wants. For now, the pouting is beginning to win Callum over already. 

“Dad! It’s not the middle of the night, it’s half eight in the morning and I want to make a snowman, please please please?” 

Knowing when to admit defeat, Callum pushes himself up from their bed, rolling his eyes affectionately at Lexi when Ben dramatically flops down onto the pillow, something that she’s quick to do right back to him. He quickly pulls on a pair of joggers and a hoodie, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes at the same time. 

“How about you go get dressed into some warm clothes darling and I’ll make your dad a coffee? Then we can make a snowman, I promise.” Callum says, lips twitching at how Lexi seems to ponder whether it’s a fair offer. 

She seems to accept it when she jumps off the bed and races down the hall to her bedroom, shouting that they better have a carrot for his nose or he’ll be the worst snowman ever. Yeah, definitely Ben’s daughter.

Callum’s padding across the bedroom in the thickest pair of socks he could find when Ben twists in the bed, finally cracking open an eyelid to follow his boyfriend’s movements. 

“I’ll take two sugar in that coffee babe.” He says, not letting Callum forget his offer. There is absolutely zero chance that he’s going out into the snow with a hyperactive eight year old in tow without some caffeine in his system. Not unless Callum wants to have two whiny children to deal with. 

“Anything else, Your Highness?” Callum winks, dropping a soft kiss down onto Ben’s forehead before making his way downstairs, ignoring Ben’s feeble attempt to pull him back down onto the bed for another five minutes. 

By the time they make it out of the house, with a carrot nose secured, the snowfall has begun again, snowflakes slowly drifting to the ground. It makes Callum feel giddy, like he’s a child again chasing Stuart around their estate with a snowball in his hand. It didn’t snow very often in his childhood, but when it did he stayed out in it for as long as he could, before his fingers would go numb from the cold and Stuart would treat him to a hot chocolate to warm back up again. 

There’s something about snow in the wintertime that still feels so magical to Callum now, like everything is right in the world for that moment it’s blanketed in pure, untouched white. He’s so lost in thought that he doesn’t see the snowball flying through the air until it hits his cheek, the sting of the cold knocking him right out of his walk down memory lane. The culprit is obvious right away, Ben letting out a loud laugh at the sight of Callum covered in snow.

“Alright, Frosty? You gonna help us build this snowman or what?” Ben shouts across at him, taking off in a run once Callum scoops up a handful of snow, a playful glint in his eye as he declares revenge. 

They end up red-cheeked and resembling Rudolph by the time they’ve rolled out snowballs that are big enough to get Lexi’s approval for Albert Square’s Biggest and Best Snowman. Callum gets tasked then with stacking the snowballs on top of one another, Ben adamant that his height makes him the best man for the job, whilst he and Lexi search for sticks and stones to bring their snowman to life. 

Once Lexi’s happy with how their snowman is looking, Callum sits her on his shoulders so she can place one of Ben’s old wooly hats onto the snowman’s head. When they step back to take in the final product, Lexi lets out a cheer, clearly happy with their hard work. She’s hardly stopped smiling since they stepped foot out of the house. 

It makes Ben’s heart swell, seeing the two people he loves the most in the world so happy. There is nothing that he wouldn’t do for either of them, finally feeling like he’s found his place in the world. It’s where he belongs, with Callum and Lexi. 

Ben can’t help but think of how different things were this time last year, how different he was. It makes shame curl deep in his stomach, remembering how he’d pushed Callum away, breaking both of their hearts in an attempt to keep Callum’s pure, not wanting his world of warmth and goodness tainted by loving a Mitchell. The way he handled the entire situation last Christmas is one of Ben’s biggest regrets, something that will cause him guilt for a long time, no matter how much Callum says he forgives him. 

But, that’s the past. 

Now, he feels lucky. So incredibly lucky to be standing here, even if he can’t feel his fingers or toes anymore, watching his boyfriend and his daughter bond so effortlessly. 

Callum’s head is tipped back in laughter at whatever Lexi has said, the little girl holding on to his hat to keep herself upright on his shoulders. It makes Ben smile, seeing them laugh together and practically feeling the happiness radiating from them. Ben knows that Callum loves Lexi like his own, always has, and Lexi adores him right back. 

They’re a family. A little bit dysfunctional, a little bit mismatched, but so very full of love. 

This Christmas, their first one as a family, they’ll swap presents, eat too much chocolate before dinner, and pass out on the couch whilst Elf plays on the telly. 

This Christmas, there will be laughter and joy and love. 

This Christmas, they will be _happy_. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!  
> come find me on tumblr @halfwayinit x


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